‘In My Life’ — The Beatles
This 1965 single from “Rubber Soul” would be on every list of the greatest songs ever written, according to John Lennon. In fact, Lennon went so far as to call it “my first real, major piece of work.” He also remarked that “it had all been glib and thrown away up until then.” Peter Shotton, his friend and eventual biographer, suggested that the phrase “Some [friends] are dead and some are living / In my life I’ve loved them all” was a homage to both Shotton and Stuart Sutcliffe, who died in 1962.
‘In My Life’ — The Beatles
‘Layla’ — Derek And The Dominos
The 12th-century tale “The Story of Layla and Majnun” by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi inspired Eric Clapton to write “Layla,” which many consider to be one of the best rock songs ever recorded. Clapton was also inspired by his personal life, specifically his unrequited love for Pattie Boyd. She was his friend and fellow musician George Harrison’s wife, but all worked out in the end, and they were married for nearly a decade. In 1974, he told the Rolling Stone, “It was the heaviest thing going on at the time.” “That’s what I wanted to write about most of all,” he added.
‘Layla’ — Derek And The Dominos
